US barbed-wires Iraqi villages--Or, how to lose a war

[DrBB]

Of course it was unwinnable to begin with, given how we went into it and why. Still, all you need to know about Iraq is contained in this quotation:

The Iraqis nodded and edged their cars through the line. Over to one side, an Iraqi man named Tariq muttered in anger.

"I see no difference between us and the Palestinians," he said. "We didn't expect anything like this after Saddam fell."

Still, you may want to read this just to know how truly f***ed we are.

[nomaco-10]

1. No, no DrBB, we can't be bothered....

to discuss the atrocities, colonization and mistreatment of the Iraqi people, we are all too busy trying to decide which candidate, Clark or Dean is more "electable" and "inspiring".

Seriously, this article is very troubling and should be talked about, not just here, but in every newspaper and news channel in this country. What little news we can get out of Iraq is very disturbing indeed, and I appreciate those that take the trouble to search it, type it, post it and put it on this site for us to read. Thanks.

[DrBB]

2. Amazing how fast it dropped off page 1

Offered as a small respite from the candidate squabbles. Not surprised it was fairly ineffectual, but hey....

[Must_B_Free]

9. Picture of our heroes "Warsawing" them in...

Anyone see The Pianist?

Then you know what's next.

[leftchick]

12. What is next? A concentration camp Tatoo perhaps?

A Sunni man in Abu Hishma posed for a photograph last week with the number for his identification card.

[annagull]

3. Getting tips from the Israelis for occupation

wonder if we are getting tips on how to lose your countrry in the process.

[slinkerwink]

4. :kick:

this war sucks.

[Fitzovich]

5. Reminds me of....

The Boer War?

[legin]

8. Interesting Fitzovich

I've thought about that one too.

But maybe the analogy is not quite close enough because I would guess they were primarily an agricultural ecomomy, hence the british went around driving people off the land into concentration camps.

Possibly Vietnam was the same sort of type of action, a resistance of widely dispersed small villages.

It strikes me that Iraq is more urbanised which may change how the 'game' works.

Possibly Russia vs Chechnaya might be a closer analogy (I certainly hope not).

This however is all guesswork.

There is probably something on the internet on this, somewhere.

[legin]

13. Russia vs Chechnaya is wrong I think

because that is an urban war which is not what this is, this more of a hit-and-run guerrilla resistace movement.

there is a lot of links here:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6453/guerrilla.html

[Ksec]

6. I thought this was about freedom for Iraqis

er WMDs, whatever it is this week, anyway freedom was in there somewhere. Im sure of it.

[Ksec]

7. I went back and read the OPED piece and it was about Dean

not having a chance. Is this what you wanted to post?

[DrBB]

11. Oops--you're right. Correct link

Here's the correct link.

Too many windows open at once--copied the wrong url--thanks for catching that.

[leftchick]

10. DrBB....I think you have the wrong link!

Perhaps you were refering to this one?.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/international/middleeast/07TACT.html?ex=1071378000&?ei=5062&?en=b9c5e965e018edf1&?partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=

Us Tighten Grip on Iraqi Towns

<snip>
In selective cases, American soldiers are demolishing buildings thought to be used by Iraqi attackers. They have begun imprisoning the relatives of suspected guerrillas, in hopes of pressing the insurgents to turn themselves in.

The Americans embarked on their get-tough strategy in early November, goaded by what proved to be the deadliest month yet for American forces in Iraq, with 81 soldiers killed by hostile fire. The response they chose is beginning to echo the Israeli counterinsurgency campaign in the occupied territories.

So far, the new approach appears to be succeeding in diminishing the threat to American soldiers. But it appears to be coming at the cost of alienating many of the people the Americans are trying to win over. Abu Hishma is quiet now, but it is angry, too.

In Abu Hishma, encased in a razor-wire fence after repeated attacks on American troops, Iraqi civilians line up to go in and out, filing through an American-guarded checkpoint, each carrying an identification card printed in English only.

"If you have one of these cards, you can come and go," coaxed Lt. Col. Nathan Sassaman, the battalion commander whose men oversee the village, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. "If you don't have one of these cards, you can't."